First Co, Ltd - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Like an opening armGreetings, It is with great pleasure and anticipation that I bring to you the first news letter of Vietnam Expat. As Director of Vietnam Expat I aim to make expatriates enjoy their time working here and to help expatriates experience the culture of one of Asia’s oldest civilisations, a country of growing political and economic significance, and a country of beauty, pride and intrigue – my home, Vietnam.Vietnam Expat is comprised of two parts – a phone translation service for day to day practical use and socialization classes. The idea of a translation hotline came to me after a doctor at the FV Hospital Dr S.Franckhausser told me that he had been in Vietnam eleven months but had never been anywhere except the hospital. This for one simple reason - as a doctor he  

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was afraid he would be unable to explain to a taxi driver where he wanted to go when he was called to the hospital in an emergency. Socialisation classes can be very enlightening in a foreign country. The story of Nathalie is one of many examples that demonstrates this point. Nathalie and expatriate worker in Vietnam came to me and told how it hurts her when her comments to Vietnamese colleagues are greeted by seemingly inappropriate smiles. She asked them why they smiled but never received a satisfactory answer. She felt every one except her seemed to share the message of smile and became depressed. After I told her about Vietnamese culture and the Vietnamese smile, she was relieved and now happily works amongst her colleagues without feeling like an outsider. o understand the culture of people you work and live with will in turn make your work and life more fulfilling and effective. And that is why I bring you our simple two and half hour long socialization classes that will feel like opening arms welcoming you to Vietnam